Boxing

IF Joe Joyce has been unable to work out a new strategy in the last five months, there’s every chance he finds history painfully repeating itself on Saturday night.In April, the Juggernaut disastrously appeared to have just a single game plan when he fought Zhilei Zhang.
Joe Joyce must change his tactics or else risk another defeat to Zhilei ZhangCredit: Rex
Joyce knows he must win the rematch to revive his world heavyweight title dreamCredit: Rex
That seemed to be to keep crashing head-on with the Chinese giant’s accurate, powerful southpaw left hand.
Zhang simply couldn’t miss him and the inevitable result was that Joyce experienced a shock six-round defeat.
It meant Joyce not only lost his coveted unbeaten record but also any ambitions he had to challenge Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk for their world heavyweight titles lay in tatters.
He certainly made it easy for Zhang, who couldn’t believe his luck as Joyce never once deviated from plodding forward in a straight line without moving his head and just soaking up the non-stop punishment.
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Confucius said 2,500 years ago: “Success depends upon previous preparation and without such preparation there is sure to be a failure.”
I’m not sure whether Zhang is aware of those wise words that came from the lips of China’s paragon of sages.
But I’m sure he did his homework and spent several hours watching tapes of Joyce’s fights.
And it certainly wouldn’t have taken him long to realise — the Putney arts graduate has had only 16 fights in a six-year pro career — is really a one-trick pony.
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Joyce put his disappointing performance down to a bad night at the office and he immediately invoked the return fight clause.
He hopes to redeem himself in the eyes of his fans and put himself firmly back into world title contention when he goes back to face Zhang for a second time at Wembley’s OVO Arena.
It’s a pity Joyce is so predictable because he has everything else a world champion needs.
He’s a dedicated, super-fit athlete, never gives less than value-for-money, has a KO left hook, a big heart and a chin made out of the kind of concrete that every school should be built with. 
Let’s hope he gets inspiration from Lennox Lewis and Anthony Joshua, who both bounced back from  surprise losses.
 Lewis got immediate revenge over Hasim Rahman while Joshua did the same against Andy Ruiz Jr.
But there have been calamitous attempts at reparations in the heavyweight division.
The most catastrophic was Floyd Patterson’s endeavour to get his world title back from Sonny Liston  60 years ago.
Patterson lasted only 2min 6sec of the first round in their first fight and just four seconds longer in the return.  
 Joyce turned 38 on Tuesday and it will be a mini-miracle if he can change the habit of a lifetime when the first bell sounds.
 I fear there will be no re-Joyceing as I expect a repeat Zhang victory — this time on points.
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And if that’s the case, Joyce should hang up the gloves and find work on a less dangerous canvas by taking out the brushes and paint portraits for a living. 
But one thing’s for sure, whatever happens, you won’t see Joyce being counted out on one knee after going down from a jab like ‘Dangerous’ Dan Dubois did against Ukrainian champion Usyk in Poland last month. More

EDDIE HEARN has defended his decision to book Conor Benn amid his ongoing doping scandal.Benn, 26, has been sidelined for the last year following two failed voluntary drug tests ahead of his cancelled clash with Chris Eubank Jr but returns to the ring on Saturday night.
Conor Benn makes his return to the ring in Orlando this weekendCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING
Benn hasn’t fought since last April after failing two drug tests before his cancelled clash with Chris Eubank Jr last OctoberCredit: GETTY
Promoter Eddie Hearn has defended the decision to book Benn while he’s ineligible box in the UKCredit: GETTY
He was cleared of intentionally ingesting the banned fertility drug clomiphene – which can elevate testosterone levels in men – by the National Anti-Doping Panel but the verdict was appealed by UKAD and British Boxing Board of Control.
Benn ripped up his BBBoC license over his row with the governing body, which didn’t have the power to suspend him as they don’t recognise VADA testing.
Benn was provisionally suspended by UKAD but the ban was lifted in August, which Hearn insists is enough justification to have him back in action this weekend.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, he said: “Yeah, absolutely [he could fight in the UK. He’s cleared to fight. He is no longer suspended.
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“I mean this is something that people keep sort of forgetting to talk about.
“He went through a process, his suspension was lifted, he was cleared to box.
“And in this process itself, what people I think probably don’t know is the ABC, which is the governing body of America would not let him fight unless he was cleared to fight in the UK.
“I.e. his suspension was lifted.
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“So the ABC actually spoke to the British Boxing Board of Control to confirm that he was no longer suspended.
“Once they were aware of that and that was confirmed, they cleared him to fight.
“Then the Texas Athletic Commission where he is licensed then cleared him to fight.”
Hearn understands the scrutiny surrounding Benn’s return against Mexican Rodolfo Orozco, so much so that he’s subjected him to rigorous testing.
The Matchroom Boxing chief said: “He’s had to undergo multiple testing procedures during this camp as well over the last 12 weeks.
“Florida wanted to see all of that and once they saw it, and they actually requested additional testing which occurred as well — he’s cleared to fight.
“I saw a lot of things saying, ‘Oh he’s hopping around the world to fight.’
Conor Benn faces Rodolfo Orozco in Orlando on Saturday nightCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING
“No, the ABC of America spoke to the British Boxing Board of Control to confirm that he’s not suspended and ultimately he is clear to fight.”
Hearn insists the short-notice booking of Benn had nothing to do with the fact the Brit can’t box in his home nation.
The 44-year-old said: “He’s already licensed with the Texas Commission as he has been for the last couple of months.
“There was a slot available on this show. I expect his next fight to be in the UK.
“In fact, as soon as we finish this fight we’ll be putting in a request for him to box in December.
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“We have shows all around the world and this was the slot that he took and it’s the first fight back.
“And we’ll move on to a fight in December which we hope and believe will be in the UK.” More

JOE JOYCE remains haunted by the drastic end to his winning streak but already has his recovered eye on a comeback party.The 38-year-old Putney Juggernaut was six years and 15 fights into his undefeated professional run when he encountered Zhilei Zhang in April and was stopped after six rounds by a gruesome eye injury.
It took Joe Joyce a couple of weeks to get over the defeat to Zhilei ZhangCredit: Getty
The usual post-fight changing-room shindig was swapped out for a long night in the hospital where a cracked cheekbone was confirmed.
And the deep-thinking fine art graduate admits the dark moments are never far away and Saturday night’s rematch is needed for a fresh canvas.
“It took me a couple of weeks to get over it,” he said. “Not constantly but every now-and-then I have thoughts about it. 
“It’s a very different environment when you lose a fight, compared to when you win one.
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“It’s annoying, every once in a while you’re reminded that you lost a fight and I realise now how much I prefer the feeling of winning, especially the reactions of friends and fans after the fight.
“I had to take my mind off things and get out in nature, on my one-wheel skateboard, I went to see family and friends. 
“I reviewed the footage and saw where I went wrong. I spoke to a lot of people who gave me good advice. There’s plenty to improve and that’s what I have done.”
Baffling, after 18 minutes of suffering stiff right jabs, shuddering long left backhands and whipped right hooks, Joyce was still about to make jokes in his post-fight interview.
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A swollen purple eye and broken septum had not snapped his spirit but it smashed the idea that Joyce is too tough to be beaten.
And ‘Big Bang’ Zhang has already promised to focus all of his attention and power on that vulnerable right peeper.
But star student Joyce insists he is ready to make amends, he said: “I wasn’t massively hurt, I did my usual cool down and then started to feel all the bumps and bruises but I wasn’t hurt apart from the eye swelling which went down within a week.
“I had a minor fracture in my septum but other than that I was in good shape.
Joyce will fight Zhang on SaturdayCredit: Reuters
“Even in the fight I wanted to continue, I could see the fingers that the doctor held up as a test but he stopped it and I live to fight another day. 
“I could have carried on but then it might have got stopped later, with more damage to the eye, so it’s better to regroup and go again.”
Joyce accidentally lost a stone for the bout, he looked ripped and ready on the Friday scales but was sluggish in the Copper Box ring.
A new ingredient in a sports supplement was to blame but the powerhouse has promised to return to his hulking best for the Wembley rerun.
“I was too light and Zhang was heavier and stronger on the night,” he said.
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“I have made minor adjustments, made sure I am eating right and enough.
“I started that last camp on my usual fight weight so it was hard to keep it on in the training camp. That won’t happen again.” More

TYSON FURY’S team have given fresh hope for an undisputed title fight against Oleksandr Usyk despite “PLAGUED” talks in the past. The pair of unbeaten champions have failed in the past to commence the first ever four-belt heavyweight unification.
Tyson Fury’s team have given fresh hope for a fight against Oleksandr UsykCredit: Getty
Usyk and Fury have failed to agree fight terms in the pastCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
It led Usyk, 36, into a mandatory title defence against Daniel Dubois, 25, which he won in nine rounds in August.
Meanwhile Fury, 35, turned his attention to ex-UFC star Francis Ngannou, 37, and their October 28 crossover clash in Saudi Arabia.
But Todd DuBoef of Top Rank who promote Fury is still holding out hope for the historic undisputed title decider.
DuBoef told Sky Sports: “I think we were plagued by timing in this last go-around.
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“Timing from both guys just didn’t match up and we were trying to squeeze this fight in, in the spring, before the Dubois-Usyk mandatory had to happen.
“There were a bunch of circumstances, so the good news is Usyk came out of the fight with Dubois.
“Some people thought he didn’t look as good as they thought he would, but it was a really good, competitive fight.
“Tyson is going to stay razor-sharp and hopefully is going to be fighting the baddest man on the planet, and they’re going to be going at it.
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“I think, soon after that, it would be appropriate, and the stars should align for timing purposes, that the unification happens very soon.”
Fans are now fearing the super-fight will NEVER be agreed but DuBoef warned not to rule it out from experience.
He even likened it to when Top Rank boss Bob Arum and rival promoter Don King agreed a deal between Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad in 1999.
DuBoef said: “There was always an appetite.
“There’s always an appetite to present something when it’s always going against public opinion where people say, ‘You can’t make the big fights’.
“I remember when they said ‘Bob and Don will never make De La Hoya-Trinidad’, and we sat in a deli with Don and the three of us made the fight.
“Sometimes, a lot of the narrative is created online and on social platforms today, and that’s unfortunate and it creates headwinds for reality.
“People have knee-jerk responses to what they hear out there and it kind of drives the negotiation, so if we could keep everybody off the social platforms, I think the alignment of where you could get a big fight to unify all the titles, particularly in the heavyweight division, is very appealing for everyone.”
Fury facing off with UsykCredit: Reuters More